Monday, February 15, 2010

An Apology, of sorts.

I get asked to make a lot of public appearances, most I have to turn down due to reasons of time, distance or cost. Add to this also having a very high profile partner, Matisse, and it seems like every week we are playing the "did person X contact you about event Y?" game. I know, I know woe is me, I'm popular a have a beautiful partner who is high demand... no this is not the point I am trying to make. All I want to say here is that it seems like we are always getting approached for something, like I said many I have to, regretebly, say no to.

And then there is what happened to me few weeks back. My darling Matisse tells me that she was approached by a theater production asking her to be a "guest expert" for an upcoming series of performances. The topic? Pegging. Frankly I could not think of anyone better to talk on the subject, she is a walking wikipedia on the topic and has probably more hours of time in a strap on harness than anyone else in the city. There was to be one slight added wrinkle to this event, they also wanted me to be on the panel. Seems they saw me read at Sex Worker Literati back in November and it left quite the impression.

Me? Yer kidding right?

Sure I, like most straight guys, have some positive things to say about the topic, but an expert on the topic? Hardly. Besides, how would this look? The big, bad wolf Twisted Monk, quasi-famous top and consort admitting in public and talking openly about getting ass fucked by a strap on?

That will not fly well with the fan base...

Or so I thought. (Remember, I am also the guy who when no men were brave enough to step up to be a demo boy for the CBT section of the bondage class, I just opened my fly and used my own hardware.) Hesitantly I agreed, thinking that this if nothing else would make for good blog fodder and well... I'm pretty much a push over anytime she does what I call the "happy sadist dance". I figured I'd take the "Yeah, you can be a big straight guy and like this. It won't make you any less of a bad ass" stand and generally be there to play off Matisse's humor and support her as she shares her hard earned insights on the topic. I'd make sure I twittered a bit on the topic and the show, but not too much. Did not want ya all to think I was too exited about it... cuz that might make me less of a big ol' straight top, ya know.

Thing is, I really enjoyed the show. I've seen (and done) a lot of "indie theater" and know that most of it can be boring, pretentious and a platform for some self absorbed ass hat to unload on an unsuspecting audience things that would be better left in a therapist's office. Instead what I saw was a sweet, insightful and very honest performance about a topic that even I, the experienced sexual outlaw, still have a slight pause talking about in public. Best of all, it was funny, like bust a gut, laugh out loud funny. The moments of raw, genuine honesty about a very taboo and sometimes confusing sexual desire really work, offset that with silly humor and it is a winning combination.

Here is where the apology comes in.

To you, dear reader. Do yourself a favor, go take your significant other(s) and go see this show. It runs for 3 more nights here in Seattle. Matisse and I will be there again tonight to host the post show discussion and if that is not enough reason to go, tonight is also "pay what you can" night. Don't let your (or my) social hang ups around something that, in the end (ha-ha), brings happiness.

Here is the trailer:


For theater info click here.